Spring Training 2020 Update
The 2020 Minor League Baseball season is 36 days away. Spring Training is well underway in both Florida and Arizona, and yet, so many things remain unknown. Big league camp is still jam-packed with players yearning for a chance to prove themselves in front of Scott Servais and company once the regular season begins, while others have been relegated to the back fields as they prepare to ship off to their respective affiliates at the end of March. For now, we focus on those folks still grinding away in front of the Mariners’ head honchos, as we check in on the former Power players from 2019 who are striving to make big splashes this year.
In total, nine Power players from the 2019 season have made an appearance in big league camp with the Seattle Mariners this year. Of course, there’s the vaunted threesome of Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez and Logan Gilbert, three of the Mariners’ top phenoms who all dazzled with West Virginia a season ago.
There’s also Devin Sweet, a starter-turned-reliever-turned-starter who seemed to find his footing in the second half last season in West Virginia, as he posted one of the most dominant second-half ERAs in the South Atlantic League while also dotting the history books, as he twirled the Power’s first-ever nine-inning complete-game against Rome in late July. Another hurler earning the eyes of Seattle’s brass is Dayeison Arias, the flame-throwing (and formerly dreadlocked) closer for the Power who lit up the radar gun and K meters repeatedly en route to a team-best 13 saves. Also joining him are Ryne Inman, a mainstay in The Capital City last year, and Bernie Martinez, who merely had a cup of coffee with the Power as he was shuttled around the Mariners’ farm system.
Amongst the other sluggers, only Connor Hoover and Keegan McGovern earned enough clout to play on the biggest stage in the spring. Regardless, each of these players has had an opportunity to strut their stuff under the careful eye of the big league team, so let’s take a quick glance at how they did.
Hitters
Connor Hoover: 2–for-6, 2R, 2BB, 1K, 5G
Jarred Kelenic: 5-for-14, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 4R, 2BB, 2K, 7G
Keegan McGovern: 0–0, 1BB, 1G
Julio Rodriguez: 2-for-11, 5K, 6G
The main story of this foursome is Kelenic, who absolutely blistered his first home run of Spring Training two days ago….
Seattle’s big-time trade acquisition from December 2018 has certainly perked up a few heads in Spring Training this go-round, only striking out twice in 14 at-bats. Meanwhile, J-Rod hasn’t seen the same success, going down swinging in nearly half his at-bats thus far. Granted, it’s big league pitchers against a teenager, so you have to take that into account. When making the comparison though, Kelenic appears to be a bit more seasoned against top level talent, which stands to reason, as the outfielder had 83 at-bats at Double-A before season’s end this past year.
Pitchers
Dayeison Arias: 0–0, 6.75 ERA, 1.1 IP, 3H, 1R, 3K, 2G
Logan Gilbert: 0–0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 1H, 1K, 1GS
Ryne Inman: 0–0, 0.00 ERA, 0.1 IP, 1 Hold, 1G
Bernie Martinez: 0–0, 0.00 ERA, 0.1 IP, 1G
Devin Sweet: 0–0, 0.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 1K, 1 Save, 1G
As for this five-man “rotation”, mostly good things to like in a small sample size. Sweet and Inman both picked up decisions, while Gilbert put up solid numbers in his lone start in the Cactus League. Arias’ ERA may be slightly unnerving, but again, he hasn’t pitched above High-A, and yet, three of his four recorded outs were strikeouts. His stuff certainly plays at the big league level, and with more experience here in the spring and when he presumably makes the Double-A jump this year, he should continue to gain confidence facing MLB-caliber hitters.
The lone three of this 2019 Power crew that remain in big league camp is no surprise: Gilbert, Kelenic and Julio. All three names have swirled around rumor mills that they may see time at T-Mobile Park this year, with Kelenic’s moniker dotting those projected mid-season rosters the most.
While none of the 2019 Power players will most likely break camp with the Mariners, it’s certainly exciting to see a numerous crew from last year’s bunch already donning the baby blues.
More to come soon….
